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Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

A philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer talk about media and how we consume it.

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PMP#76: Wonder Women (84 and Others) w/ Vi Burlew

January 6, 2021 by Mark Leave a Comment

The holiday film release season has passed us with only one real blockbuster, which is the return of Wonder Woman, and we likewise have a returning hero:  Our college-going young guest from ep. 33 on heroine journeys has now grown into a grad student just studying comics and brings her deep WW knowledge to consider the new film in context with Erica, Mark, and … [Read more...] about PMP#76: Wonder Women (84 and Others) w/ Vi Burlew

PMP#72: Comic Book Supremacy w/ Fred Van Lente

December 8, 2020 by Mark Leave a Comment

As scribe for Marvel and his own Evil Twin Comics, Fred has a lot of ideas to bring to Mark, Erica, and Brian about both non-fiction comics and what people normally think of. Adding pictures helps readers retain information, and the low budgets involved with comics mean that there's really no whimsicality limit. We discuss playing in the Marvel sandbox, the role of humor, … [Read more...] about PMP#72: Comic Book Supremacy w/ Fred Van Lente

PMP#63: Superhero Ethics (and The Boys) w/ Travis Smith

October 6, 2020 by Mark Leave a Comment

Is there no end to the seemingly endless fascination with superhero media? Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by Travis, who teaches political philosophy at Concordia) to discuss. Travis sees their resonance as a matter of metaphor: How can we do more with the abilities we have? His book Superhero Ethics matches up heroes like Batman vs. Spider-Man for ethical comparison: Both … [Read more...] about PMP#63: Superhero Ethics (and The Boys) w/ Travis Smith

PMP#60: Manga 101 w/ Deborah Shamoon

September 16, 2020 by Mark Leave a Comment

One of our goals on Pretty Much Pop has been to look into not just our favorite creators and genres but into things that get a lot of buzz but which we really don't know anything about. Manga is a great example of a "look what these crazy kids are into today" kind of area for many (older) Americans. Deborah Shamoon, an American who teaches Japanese studies at the National … [Read more...] about PMP#60: Manga 101 w/ Deborah Shamoon

PMP#56: Black + Nerd = BLERD w/ Anthony LeBlanc

August 11, 2020 by Mark Leave a Comment

The Interim Executive Producer of The Second City joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss the scope of black nerd-dom: what nerdy properties provide to those who feel "othered," using sci-fi to talk about race, Black Panther and other heroes, afrofuturism, black anime fans, Star Trek, Key & Peele, Get Out vs. Us, and more. A few articles you might enjoy: "Blerd … [Read more...] about PMP#56: Black + Nerd = BLERD w/ Anthony LeBlanc

PMP#26: We Watch “Watchmen” w/ David Pizarro

January 8, 2020 by Mark 3 Comments

Perhaps the most lauded graphic novel has been sequelized for HBO, and amazingly, it turned out pretty darn well (with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes rating!).  Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by the Cornell psych prof who hosts the Very Bad Wizards podcast. We consider Alan Moore's 1986 graphic novel, the 2009 Zack Snyder film, and of course mostly the recently completed (we … [Read more...] about PMP#26: We Watch “Watchmen” w/ David Pizarro

PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere)

August 27, 2019 by Mark 3 Comments

Mark, Erica, and Brian finally cover a current film, and of course use it as an entry point in discussing the social function of super-hero films more generally, how much realism or grittiness is needed in such stories, whether to repeat or bypass the origin story, everlasting franchises, the use of multi-verses as a storytelling device, exaggerating the potential in a story of … [Read more...] about PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere)

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What is Pretty Much Pop?

On Pretty Much Pop, a philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer (often with entertainment industry guests) talk about media and how we consume it: TV, film, music, novels, games, comics, comedy, theater, podcasts, and more. Most of what (other) people like is pretty weird when you think about it, so thinking about it is what we do.

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